But now, there are not enough first-class seats. The court instructed parties to keep negotiating, which eventually led to an out-of-court agreement. Let’s stop it. They feel good, they get their bonuses, you’re popular. They also worry about the long-term impact on the airline's reputation and safety standards if too many pilots leave - good, experienced crew who have been through SIA's rigorous training and aircraft certification programmes. In this excerpt from, Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master’s Insights on China, the United States, and the World, he talks about the necessary […] The airline insists that the numbers are within the company's projection for manpower planning, but the union is concerned. He quoted what then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew told the pilots: 'I don't want to do you in, but I won't let anybody do Singapore in.' The pilots, unhappy with the layoffs and pay cuts that came in the wake of the Sars crisis, had ousted their union leaders in 2003. And from that moment, way back in the 1960s, we built ourselves up as an international airline because, where were we going to fly to? It was then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who stepped in after 10 days, and ordered all flight operations to be returned to normal and the airline’s image restored. While pilots should not expect to be paid what airlines in China pay, for example, SIA, too, should realise that the gap cannot be too wide. This follows a similar consolidation between the group's budget carriers. The $100 million programme is expected to start in 2020. I think now the first-class cabin, from my recollection, has only about 12 seats when there used to be 16 or 18 seats. Remembering Lee Kuan Yew (1923 - 2015) Remembering Lee Kuan Yew (1923 - 2015) Remembering Lee Kuan Yew (1923 - 2015) He also spoke about his style of governing compared to that of the younger ministers and the branding of Singapore. Lee Kuan Yew: Govt cannot let pilots have their way Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew issued a stern warning to Singapore Airlines pilots on Monday that the Government will not allow them to go slow or work-to-rule, which would damage the airline’s reputation and cost it hundreds of millions of dollars in losses in a matter of months. Lee Kuan Yew, the former Prime Minister of Singapore and the one responsible for its rise from third world to first in only a generation, is a great source of wisdom. To ensure a consistent product, the union will take place only after SilkAir planes are upgraded. We had Malayan Airways, which was based here. Nicole Rebecca Seah Xue Ling (Chinese: 佘雪玲; pinyin: Shé Xuě Líng; born 17 October 1986) is a Singaporean politician and advertising executive.. Seah rose to prominence as a candidate representing the National Solidarity Party (NSP) in Marine Parade GRC in … Please enable scripts and reload this page. Some experts, however, caution that while all certified commercial pilots would have been trained according to international regulations, local standards can and do differ. SIA needs to continue to reduce its costs. And the key is not to hold an election when people are not feeling good. When the SIA pilots went on strike, our late founding father Lee Kuan Yew was clearly furious. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. Then they decided they wanted to go off on their own so we built up workshops in Kuala Lumpur so they could go off. Here again, the level of development of a country may be a proxy for rigorous enforcement.". There were suggestions to divest SIA Engineering Company and Singapore Airport Terminal Services, two of SIA's largest subsidiaries. This collective agreement ends in a few months, we’re going to be tough’. The timing could not be worse for the airline, which has been on a roller-coaster ride since the end-2008 global financial crisis. In other words, there’ll be fewer than 12 passengers if you have two being used by pilots. Through investment company Temasek Holdings, the government owns 57 per cent of SIA. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said the fact that the pilots agreed to lower wages Prof Pangarkar said: "Generally, developed countries and airlines would have stricter requirements for pilots. I don’t know about branding. Budget carriers are coming into Asia and it’s a matter of time before they pose the same challenge to mainline carriers as they do in America and now increasingly in Europe. With its strong brand proposition and Singapore's reputation as a clean and safe city, SIA knows it is unlikely to have major problems attracting pilots from other airlines, even if attrition rates continue to climb. The pilots know that the company has spent half a million or three-quarters of a million dollars training a person to fly a 747. The industrial dispute was resolved amicably between the new union leaders and the senior Lee ("SIA Pilots Pledge Amicable Solution", 24 February 2004). In other words, we’re carrying other people’s passengers. At about the same time, Mr Stephen Lee - then president of the Singapore National Employers Federation and PSA chairman - joined SIA's board. Both management at SIA and the pilots’ union, and all the unions in SIA, know that when the Government decides that its industrial relations is a key factor in its progress, in its economic well-being, and it says no, it means no. Are EU Markets More Competitive than Those in the U.S.? In the Home Section (Page H11) of The Straits Times of 24 May 2003. How Many Governments Does it Take to Fix a Light Bulb. I do know that you need a good reputation, not just outside Singapore but within Singapore, with your own people. Now you can have that in Hong Kong. And the first principle is nobody owes us a living. (2010-11), No anti-terrorist measures in these places, Non Proliferation White Paper and Reactor Sale to Pakistan, A Presidential Pardon for Turkey: West Asia Fortnightly Update, 03-01-2019, Unbundling “household work” to get more women to work. Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH (Honorary) (Chinese: 李光耀; pinyin: Lǐ Guāngyào; 16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015; also Lee Kwan-Yew) was a Singaporean politician. The love story between Lee Kuan Yew and his late wife Kwa Geok Choo is a beautiful and touching one. I will not allow that because I literally decided, in the early days, that I will preserve this potential business for Singapore. On at least two occasions, the Industrial Arbitration Court (IAC) had to intervene. There’s no catchment here. You have stewards or stewardesses or pilots playing work-to-rule, you lose that cachet. So after the Sars debacle, SIA lost money for the first time in its history, they accepted the pay cuts, no-pay leave, certain adjustments in work schedules with a proviso that if SIA makes money, as it makes money it will restore all its cuts. But the second quarter, July to September, they showed a profit. Meanwhile, SIA has almost completed the first of a three-year transformation plan. When – after settling this and voting in favour of the executive committee saying, ‘yes, we support this’ – SIA makes $300 million in one quarter, they decide ‘We’ll sack the committee, we’re going to take over. Capt Goh, who was living here from 1981, was singled out by then Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew for instigating the ouster of Alpa-S leaders in November 2003, amid unhappiness over wage negotiations. I do not believe that popular government means you have to be popular when you govern. And if they’re confrontational, then either the union gives way or the union is able to knock the Government down. The dispute is expected to be heard before the IAC before the end of next month. Lee Kuan Yew, litteris Sinicis 李光耀, litteris Tamulicis லீ குவான் இயூ (Singapurae natus, nomine Harry Lee Kuan Yew, die 16 Septembris 1923; ibidem die 23 Martii 2015 mortuus) fuit politicus Singapuranus, pater patriae habitus. So we had to go international or nothing. So we are telling them, both management and unions, ‘you play this game, there are going to be broken heads’. In the end, the only way forward for both parties is through dialogue and compromise. I can assure you that in Singapore, when we decide that they are breaking the rules of the game, the unspoken rules as to how we survive, how we have prospered, then either their head is broken or our bones are broken. In 1980, Lee Kuan Yew told SIA pilots' union he was prepared to ground airline & start over 'They know that I'm prepared to ground the airline. His loyalty and devotion to his wife, a charming contrast to his strict demeanor Image via Straits Times. He was furious that in a short span of 2 weeks they had caused harm to SIA's reputation. SINGAPORE, March 23 — When journalist Dennis Bloodworth in 1989 described Lee Kuan Yew as “bloody-minded and ruthless with his adversaries. Tensions were high between Singapore Airlines' (SIA) top brass and the Air Line Pilots Association - Singapore (Alpa-S). Lee Kuan Yew (kinesiska: 李光耀, pinyin: Lǐ Guāngyào), född 16 september 1923 i Singapore, död 23 mars 2015 i Singapore, var den förste premiärministern i republiken Singapore från 1959 till 1990.Sedan han avgått från ämbetet fortsatte Lee att vara en av de mest inflytelserika politikerna i Singapore. We know the union side too because we’ve got unionists on our side and we are going to solve this before it gets troublesome and solve it we will. A Malaysian airline pilot who angered Singapore's Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew by leading a rare union revolt lost his appeal against the government's decision to strip him of his residency. Mr Lee Kuan Yew had taken a personal interest in the process. To cope with unrelenting competition and falling yields, SIA launched budget carrier Scoot in 2012, has invested heavily in new and more technologically advanced planes, upgraded its seats and other cabin products, and entered new markets. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore from 1959 to 1990.. ​It's been 15 years since the big showdown at the Istana. I believe that it is better to be feared than to be loved. 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